Single-use plastics pollution is an important environmental issue in Canada, accumulating through the rise of consumerism and the number of plastics manufactured. Single-use plastics, also known as disposable plastics, are delivered through products that we use in our everyday lives and are designed to be used once before they are thrown away or recycled.

We as consumers play a fundamental role, where we are consuming products/ resources at a quicker rate than our earth can replenish. 

More than one-third of plastics produced in Canada are from single-use products or packaging, causing an increase in microplastics and macro plastics being released to the environment.

Plastic is also known to be the cheapest alternative for companies and businesses, which plays a major factor in the environmental impacts on a global scale. 

Impacts as consumers and our usages:

• The cosmetic industry produces over 120 billion units of non-recyclable packaging every year (Zero Waste’s report in 2019)
• 15 billion plastic bags are used in Canada every year, along with 57 million plastic straws every day
• Canadians produced over 6 million tonnes of plastic waste, about 60,000 tonnes of which has become pollution 
• Canadians produce more garbage per capita than any other country in the world
• Estimated annual waste per capita: 36.1 metric tons
• Estimated annual waste total: 1,325,480,289 metric tons
• Waste treatment recycling: 20.6%
• (According to USA Today)
• At least 46% of the plastic in the Great Pacific Garbage Patch comes from fishing nets, where miscellaneous discarded fishing gear makes up the majority of the rest

This is a major issue in Canada’s waste production. These wastes end up in our landfills and litter our parks, beaches, and pollutes our rivers, lakes, and oceans. Single-use plastics are also a threat to animals, such as turtles, fish, marine mammals and many other species. In which, it results in the exposure of toxic chemicals and microplastics/macro plastics into the ecosystem.

What happens to these disposed plastics:

• Less than 10% of plastic used in Canada are recycled and the rest don’t decompose and break down into tiny particles
• 2.3 billion single-use plastic water bottles and 29,000 tonnes of plastic waste end up as litter (visible on land)
• Reports show that: 9% of plastic waste is recycled, 4% incinerated with energy recovery, 86% end up in the landfill, and 1% are leaked into the environment
• About 2.8 million tonnes of plastic waste ends up in Canadian landfills every year
• Can end up in oceans and contaminate the aquatic ecosystem
• Water plastic pollution can become a problem since 30 million people rely on drinking water from the Great Lakes
• Over 700 million different types of marine species have been affected due to ocean plastic pollution
• In Atlantic Canadian waters, Leatherback Sea Turtles are found to be indiscriminate feeders, where they mistaken plastic as their source of food

Single-use plastic pollution also can pose negative outcomes within the Canadian economy as the competition between the plastic industry is rising. The material production cost of plastic is also more than what it’s sold for on the market.

It is projected that the materials that are not recovered represented a lost opportunity of $7.8 billion for Canada. By 2030, the estimated cost that Canada can lose due to unrecovered plastics could rise to $11.1 billion based on a business’s operations. 

Limiting amounts of plastic waste used for different purposes, such as food packaging and construction waste is a difficult task to establish. How we handle these plastic products after it's intended delivery defines the status of our environment.

How we can help:

I've created a one-week plastic-free challenge where anyone can take part in it. To limit the risk of plastic pollution and make a change, we have to all be part of the solution. To do so I want to have people in local communities implement changes in their daily routines by taking part in this challenge. (Image above)

Please sign and share this petition to spread the word.

Make a change through a plastic-free lifestyle.